Partner of Irish national in UK - different rules?

[Noneabout]

Hello All,

I am the unmarried partner of an Irish national and I am about to hit the 5 year mark on my EEA unmarried partner residence card. Unfortunately, my partner has not exercised his treaty rights consistently over the last 5 years and it is highly likely I will be denied PR when I apply at the end of the year.

I was told by an immigration lawyer that even though Irish nationals are treated differently in the UK than other EU nationals, it still won't help me because most likely the case worker at the Home Office will view it as an EU case rather than Common Travel Area case. My partner has been in the UK since December 2007 and I have been in the UK since December 2008. We have been together since January 2009.

My immigration lawyer told me that she had two clients from Italy and the Czech Republic who did not work and did not have private health insurance. Both of those clients were granted permanent residency because the Italian and Czech government automatically cover their residents' health care abroad. I want to ask if anyone knows if the Irish government does the same? And, if they do, how do I find out this information?

Many thanks for any help or guidance that you can provide.

[Richard W]

My partner has been in the UK since December 2007 and I have been in the UK since December 2008. We have been together since January 2009.

Any consecutive period of 5 years as a 'qualified person' from December 2007 would make him a permanent resident (in the EEA sense), and thus 5 years as a family member (i.e. from issue of RC) would earn you permanent residence.

You might be able to salvage recent qualifying time towards permanent residence by applying for a new RC card immediately. However, it is probable that your card will expire before the new one is issued, and continuity of residence under the EEE Regulations be broken. There is an argument that residence cards and applications for them work like visas for extended family members, but any such claim will be resisted.

I'm intrigued as to what you mean by a 'CTA case'. All that I can think of is that if you are not a visa national, you last entered the UK from the Republic and at that time your RC was valid (e.g. because your partner was working), and the entry was on or after 12 October 2014, because your partner was a 'qualified person', you will be free of any immigration restrictions whatsoever, and will therefore continue to be able to work. (In short, all the privileges of an Irishman bar "not being in breach of the immigration laws" and being treated as a Commonwealth citizen.) Unfortunately, I know of no way to turn that arcane right into a statutory excuse an employer can use.

You might have hoped to use Eind to argue that, because your partner is settled, he should be treated as having permanent residence. Unfortunately, I've not heard of that argument working for anyone but host country (= UK, in your case) nationals, and the Home Office no longer even acknowledge that precedent for British citizens.

[Noneabout]

Thank you for your reply, but I was very confused by the last two paragraphs.

Does anyone happen to know if the Irish government automatically covers their citizen's healthcare as the Czech and Italian government do?

[Wanderer]

Thank you for your reply, but I was very confused by the last two paragraphs.

Does anyone happen to know if the Irish government automatically covers their citizen's healthcare as the Czech and Italian government do?

I would doubt it wrt to the UK as Irish citizens can use the NHS and vice-versa free of charge so there is no such requirement to cover cost.